Process of making gas.



G. M. S. TAIT.

PROCESS OF MAKING GAS.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 13, 1903.

Patented Feb. 16, 1915! in ven for WQ'M. 7:4,?

TED TATE @iF-FTQE.

GODFREY M. S. TAIT, F MONTCLAIR, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOB TO HYDBOCARBON CONVERTER COMPANY, 013 NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF I Paocnss or MAKING ens.

masses.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed November 13, 1908. Serial No. 462,424.

1/ '0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GODFREY M. S. 'TA1T,.

of the King of England, and a resident of Montclair, Essex county, New Jersey, have invented a certain new and use ful Process of Making Gas, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a process for producing fixed gas from .hydrocarbons which are liquid at ordinary temperatures and from heavy oils generally, Without material deposition of carbon, tar or the like. f

My-invention is based upon the discovery that certain substances, to which I apply, for the sake of aname, the term decomposing substances, have the power, when heated to a suitable temperature, of decomposing complex hydrocarbons such as contained in the hydrocarbon oils, including crude oil, into afixed gas or mixture of fixed gases, without material deposition of carbon or material formation of residues, liquid or solid. Burnt clay, either in solid or pula subject verulent or finely granular form, has this to a high degree, and its use is ac'-' companied with practically no deposition of carbon and with the formation of practically no liquid residue if the hydrocarbon be not passed through it at an excessive rate property ordinary sand containing a large proportion.

of quartz also possesses this property to a high degree, though, according to my'observations its use 'is occasionally attended with the formation of a very slight and, in practice, negligible deposition of carbon, which deposition may be due to impurities contained in the sand; and a solid body,such as a plate or a cylinder, made of agglomerated sand, also has the same properties. T

While pulverulent metal, such as iron filings, if used in the same manner as the decomposing materials herein referred to, will also cause decomposition of the hydrocarbon molecules, such decomposition is always, in my experience, accompanied by the formation of considerable-and highly objectionable deposits of carbon among the particles of the metal, so that such metal'substances are not suitable for use in my process, and hence are not classed by me as decomposing materials E I tion being commonly While I am unable to state absolutely the exact nature of the action which these substances have on the oil or oil vapor, and hence expressly refrain from limiting myself to any particular theory as to the nature of their action, I believe that their action is catalytic, this being indicated by the fact that different substances heated to approximately the same temperatures seem to behave quite differently as to the deposition of carbon.

My invention consists therefore, as a process, inpassing hydrocarbons in the form of liquid or vapor, preferably the latter, through the pores of a heated porous decomposing material, z'. 6., material having the power when heated to cause the decomposition referred to: also the preheating of the hydrocarbon liquid or vapor prior to contact of the same with such decomposing material; also in various other features hereinafter described, and more particularly pointed out in the appended claim. a

The main object of my invention is to overcome the difliculties which have beenexperienced heretofore in the use of liquid hydrocarbons, particularly the heavier hydrocarbon oils, such as crude oil or oil as it comes from the wells, distillate, fuel oil tar oil, etc. It is well known that certain marked difiiculties are experienced in using these heavy oils in burners, the difliculties being largely,"that the'burners are apt to clog from deposition of carbon or carbonaceous compounds, that the flame is apt to be smoky unless combustion occur in a hightly heated refractory-walled chamber or region, that excessive air or steam blast 'is commonly required to atomize the oil so as to bring it into condition for rapid com bustion, and that such blast flames produce an extremely annoying roaring sound which is at times a serious objection to the use of these oils as fuel. oils, and even of an oil so light as ordinary commercial tion engines of the explosion type, is commonly attended with still more serious difiiculties, it being usually considered necessary to inject the. oil, as a jet or spray, int oratem eree. 16,1915.

The use of these heavy kerosene, in internal combusa highly heated vaporizing chamber, lgllP- f gases through the jacket space;

to be not sion of the vapor or gas within this chamber to such pressure that the contact of the gas with the hot walls of the chamber and adjacent parts of the engine cylinder will cause ignition. In such engines somewhat excessive fouling of the cylinder and vaporizing chamber commonly occurs, due to deposit of carbon or carbonaceous com pounds, the exhaust of the engine is apt to be smoky and otherwise objectionable in character, and'the point of ignition is apt that which is most advantageous and is apt to be somewhat variable, giving a tendency to fluctuation of speed or power developed. The heated vaporizing chambers of such engines are commonly found to be thickly coated wit graphite or a substance resembling graphite, after a short period of use, and this deposit must be removed frequentlywhich isa troublesome matter. erosene when injected as a liquid sprayor vapor into a somewhat heated engine cylinder, can easily be ignited by an electric spark, but when used commonly causes objectionable fouling of the engine cylinder and the exhaust from such engines is commonly of an objectionable character. These objections attendant upon the use of liquid hydrocarbons, of the grade of kerosene or heavier oils, and also many of the objections inherent to the use of lighter liquid hydrocarbons, such as the commercial grades of gasolene, can be obviated by converting the hydrocarbon into a fixed gas; but hitherto no simple and easily performed method and no simple and compact apparatus in which the method may be carried out, has beenknown. The process and apparatus herein described, are, however, extremely simple and the apparatus is extremely compact and requires practically no attention.

In the accompanying drawings I illustrate apparatus adapted for carrying out the process herein described.

In said drawings: Figure 1 shows an elevation and partial longitudinal section of a simple form of the apparatus arranged to be heated by gas jets; Fig. 2 shows a central vertical section of the upper portion of an internal combustion engine having in its head a chamber containing powdered decomposing material; Fig. 3 shows a central longitudinal section of a form of apparatus comprising a tube containing decomposmg material and surrounded by a jacket provided with means for circulating heated Fig. 4 shows a vertical section of a form of apparatus adapted for large-scale production of gas,

, comprising one or more series of inclined tubes connected at the ends by headers, and located within a furnace chamber.

Referring first to Fig. 1, 1 designates a tube, having within it a body of pulverized or finely granular decomposing material 2, of the nature hereinbefore stated, confined within the tube by perforated partitions 3 and 4, there being in the lower end of the tube (said tube being slightly inclined, as shown, preferably), a preliminary vaporizing chamber, 5, and at the other end of the tube a gas collecting chamber 6 from which the gas is led by a pipe 7 to a scrubber and. condenser 8. A row of burners, 9, for heating tube 1,.is illustrated as supplied with gas from scrubber 8 by a pipe 10; and a gas engine 11 is indicated as drawing gas from the same source. The oil is supplied to the preliminary heating chamber 5 by a pipe 12 in. which slight pressure is maintained by suitable means, as a pump 13; the supply of oil being regulated by a needle valve 11. Preferably, and particularly when a completely fixed gas is to be produced, the tube containing the decomposing material is heated to from 1000 to 1600 Fahrenheitpreferablv from 1400 to 1600 Fahrenheit, the mate rial within these tubes, being, naturally, at a somewhat lower temperature, owing to the low heat conductivity of the silicious material commonly constituting the decomposing material, its granular structure (which further'reduces heat transmission through it), and the constant carrying away of heat from such material by the gas evolved; but when a completely fixed gas is not required, the temperature may be lower. The decomposing material may be heated in various other ways instead of employing a special flame or series of flames or the heat from a special burner or furnace; for example. the decomposing material may be located within a Wall or walls of a furnace or chamber which will be highly heated as the result of some other action occurring in such furnace or chamber. The cylinder of an internal combustion engine is such a cha1nber,and in Fig. 2 I have shown the cylinder 16 of an internal combustion engine in the head 15 of which cylinder is a chamber 17 containing decomposing material such as specified, arranged to be heated by heat conducted through the wall of the cylinder head from the interior of the cylinder; and the cylinder head is provided with an oil inlet connection 18 and with a gas discharge connection 19. In such 'a construction as illustrated in this figure, the decomposing material will usually be heated to a temperature quite sufficient to convert all of the oil into a fixed gas, the temperature obtaining within the cylinder of an internal combustion engine being, as is well known, very high.

An apparatus adapted for being heated by the exhaust gases of an internalcombustion engine, or other suitable heated gases, such as the flue gases from a furnace, is shown in meaeee Fig. containing decomposlng material, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Fig. 1, and around said tube 1 is a jacket 20 inclosing between itself and tube 1 a jacket space through which heated gases may be circulated as hereinbefore specified; said jacket being provided with an inlet connection 21 and an outlet connection 22, and having within it baflies 23 adapted to delay the flow of the heated gases through the jacket space suificiently to obtain adequate heating action therefrom.v In the case of an apparatus such as illustrated in this figure in which the exhaust gases from an internal combustion engine are to be passed through the jacket space, said jacket and the bafiies within it constitute eflicient means for muffiing the sound of the exhaust of the engine.

My process may also be used on a large scale, as, for example, for the making of city illuminating gas. Fig. 4 shows one form of apparatus adapted for use on a large scale. In the construction in this figure there are a plurality of inclined tubes, 1, connected at the ends by headers 2 said tubes and headers located within a which suitable baflies 26 are provided. In the headers suitable handholes and closures QT therefor are provided. 28 designates the oil supply pipe and 29'the gas discharge pipe.

It is found desirable to incline slightly the pipes or chambers containing the decomposing material, admitting the oil into the lower end of the inclined pipe or chamber, as such inclination helps materially to prevent or reduce the passage'of unfixed hydrocarbon through the gas-making apparatus.

The apparatus shown in Fig. 3 will in gen eral, though not necessarily, be placed in an inclined position, the same as the apparatus shown in Fig. 1.

In Figs. 1 and 3 the tubes 1 are shown provided with plugs 30 through which the decomposingmaterial, or a portion thereof, ma be removed or replaced when desired.

Beside the hydrocarbon .oils, certain other liquid hydrocarbons, as for example, certain of the alcohols, for instance, methyl alcohol or wood alcohol, ethyl alcohol-or grain alcohol, and so called denatured alcohol may be passed through the apparatus to form a gas or vapor suitable for use in internal combustion engines, burners etc. Owing to the highly inflammable and volatile nature of these alcohols, and the fact that they can be used without deposition of carbon, it is not in general necessary or desirable to heat them to the point of decomposit on; for which reason the porous material may maintained at a relatively low temperature and .still produce a vapor well suited for the purposes named.

3. In this apparatus there is a tube 1 furnace chamber 25, in

purpose of I have found that the vapor produced by passing oils and the like through heated porous material having very fine pores, such for example as earthenware, porcelain and pulverulent materials mentioned above, even when these materials are not heated to a temperature sufiicient to cause decomposition of the hydrocarbons, is a vapor which is more permanent and better suited for use in burners, internal combustion engines, etc., than vapor produced by passing air over alco 1101 or gasolene, or by spraying these liquids into air, as is done in ordinary carbureters, the superiority of the vapor produced by passing the substances through the porous material being probably due to far greater subdivision of the hydrocarbons due to passage through the extremely minute pores of the heated porous material.

In this specification I have considered a compact mass of granular or pulverulent material, such as contained within the tubes 1 of Figs. 1 and 3, as being a porous material therebeing no real difference in a broad sense, so far as the action in the process herein described is concerned, between such mechanically ununit'ed masses and mechanically united masses of the same material such as porcelain or earthenware, and the spaces between the several grains which make up the granular or pulverulent mass being comparable in dimensions, and therefore in their action on the liquid hydrocarbons and their vapors, with the pores of earthenware and porcelain.

Iam'aware that it is old to pass hydrocarbon oils and vapors through the interstices between relatively large bodies of fire clay, etc., for example through the spaces of a brick checker work or through the interstices of heaps of broken brick etc., for the forming a fixed gas. Passing oil vapor and the like through extremely minute pores or interstices, as contemplated in the present process, has a materially better effect, however, since as above explained, the gas is produced without deposition of carbon or carbonaceous compoun or the formation of liquid or solid residues, which residues have commonly been produced by prior processes involving the passage of hydrocarbons through much larger spaces than arecontemplated in this present process; the difference between this process and such prior processes being therefore, a chemical difference and being probably due to the far more effective catalytic action of the decomposing substances herein mentioned when the pores through which'the liquid or vapor passes are extremely minute, such minute pores permitting catalytic action of the'decomposing substance on practically all of the molecules of the hydrocarbons, whereas when the spaces through which the oil vapor is passed are mucn larger, probably only a portion of molecules of the hydrocarbons are subjected to the catalytic action, other molecules being broken down by the action of the heat unmodified by any catalytic efi"ect.'

In the operation of this apparatus and particularly in the operation of apparatus intended to be maintained at high temperature, such as the apparatus shown in Figs. 1, 3 and 4, the flow of the oil is commonly regulated by means of the needle valve 14, or other suitable regulating means, so that only so much oil is admitted to the gas making apparatus as can be converted into a, fixed gas. For the production of completely fixed gas it is desirable that the flow be regulated from a point in advance of the gas making apparatus rather than from a point I beyond such making apparatus, as in the latter case the chamber containing the decomposing material is apt to be flooded with oil and hence more or less undecomposed oil is apt to be volatilized and pass ofl:'- with the gas, condensing later. '5' 7 Gas made from crude oil according to the method above described has been shown by analysis to have the following composition:

v o s Illuminants (3 H .w 36.95% z 4 Hydrogen 7.25% Methane (CH 55.80%

GODFREY M. S. TAIT. Witnesses:

ing witnesses.

H. M.MARBLE, FRANK E. RAFFMAN. 

